Silent Screaming
by Andorian Ice Princess-AIP
Summary: Coming home to an empty house after nearly losing his brother wasn't what Ed wanted. Can Wordy save him from himself and help him see there's still hope? Based on a scene from eppy 3.06 'The Other Lane'


**Title: Silent Screaming**

**Summary:** Coming home to an empty house after nearly losing his brother wasn't what Ed wanted. Can Wordy save him from himself and help him see there's still hope? Based on a scene from eppy 3.06 'The Other Lane'

**Disclaimer: **Ah you know write? Ed's with me and well yeah that's about it…lol

_"Words in italics and double quotes – directly from the eppy." _**For the first part. After the 8 X's **_Words in italics and double quotes _**are phone or headset conversations like my other stories. **Hope this isn't confusing and hope you like this! Thanks everyone.

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_"You and Roy make good?"_

_"Yeah…yeah we did."_

_"And the other thing?"_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"Sophie."_

_"It's okay…it's just for a while."_

_"Eddie…the last time I came home to an empty house it stayed that way."_

_"That's not what this is about."_

_"Just sayin'…go carefully."_

XXXXXXXX

_'Go carefully.'_

The last place that Ed wanted to go anywhere carefully was home – it was empty and all that awaited him was a painful reminder that his family life was falling apart and he was partly to blame. Greg had even commented that it wasn't like him to just give up. But what could he do? Bully his pregnant wife into staying? Add more stress to her already emotionally fragile state? The baby wasn't planned; Clark was a teen, Sophie's catering business was manageable and his schedule – tolerable. Everything had been moving along according to plan, when the unexpected happened and the plans were immediately rendered moot. But that wasn't the baby's fault.

Ed had even agreed with Greg that it was a time to do right what he had done wrong with Clark, only his job was always the main bone of contention between them. They had talked about him amending his working schedule but so far that hadn't happened and now he was paying the emotional price.

Ed remains in place in the silent room, on his bed, staring absently into the stillness before him, his mind urging him to move but his body unwilling to cooperate; keeping him in place. The silent minutes start to tick painfully past, taunting his solitary predicament and laughing at his helpless situation; the normally so in control team leader was now losing control of his own life. _I pushed them away? I need them…they keep me grounded…focused…alive...but they're gone…because of me._

He glances over at the clock and frowns, it was too late to call but too early for him to turn in. So without thinking too much, Ed quickly takes off his jeans, puts on a pair of black track pants and heads for the door, wanting to just get outdoors and run off all his pooling anxiety.

It was dark and cold but after thirty minutes into his run, he's working up a sweat, heart racing and mind starting to clear a little.

_'Going to my mother's…not sure how long…Clark's coming with me…'_

The images start to swirl around in his angry mind until he feels himself literally punching the air and uttering futile grunts and heated curses. Ed reaches the park and stops before the darkened landscape, breathing hard and merely slumping down onto the nearest bench, trying to calm his racing heart and pounding head; having just left the house after an extremely tense day, no food or drink in his stomach.

He doesn't want to go back to an empty house, fearing the miserable silence will pick away at his fortified exterior until the vulnerable shell underneath crumbles into an emotionally disturbed wreck and he's done for. But going to Greg's would only land him in the philosophical hot seat and turn into a _you need to do better than me and fight for your family _motivational session and that's the last thing he wants at the moment. Going to see Roy would only cause him to look at his brother's sordid professional mishaps as of late to deflect his own pain and they had just gotten back on speaking terms – that was also moot. Wordy? Could he do that to his best friend?

"Ahhh," Ed groans as he hangs his head in his hands and lets his body finally sag a bit more onto the bench. A few moments later, however, he hears some shuffling to the right breaking the silence and looks up to see three teens headed his way. Leaving his small scowl in place he watches with narrowed eyes as they approach.

"Hey man you got a light?" Asks one.

"No."

"Got the time?" Asks another.

"No."

"Got some spare change for the bus?" Asks the third.

"No and if you're looking for trouble, you best move on," Ed retorts firmly as the three look at each other and then at him before offering a few snickers, which only fuels Ed's frustrated anger. Without warning, Ed stands up, fists balled at his side ready for a fight; his brain already feeding off tense adrenaline.

Without any real warning, Ed watches as one of the punks takes a step closer to him and he reacts without thinking; lunging at the teen, the other two pouncing instantly. Each try to grab one of his arms and pull him off their friend, but as his brain offers mocking images of his brother laughing as his marriage falls apart, heated fury starts to pulsate throughout his body and soon it was clear who was quickly gaining the upper hand.

One of them finally is able to tackle Ed to the ground, his wallet flying and the other picking it up.

"Damn it man! He's a cop…he's a damn cop!" One of the hisses as he tosses the wallet onto Ed's back and literally grabs his friend by the back of his jacket and pulls him free. "Let's get the hell outta here!"

"That's…right…run…" Ed shouts angrily as he flops back down and then rolls onto his back, his lungs slightly wheezing as he remains slightly motionless for a few minutes, staring absently up into the stars. He closes his eyes for a few minutes, picturing his son's disappointed expression and feeling his heart sink instantly. With the adrenaline wearing off, the cold was starting to nip at his sweat wracked frame, forcing him to slightly shiver and slowly sit up.

The scuffle with the three ruffians make his face wince, painful residue of a senseless brawl that he perpetuated. _I'm a cop…I break up the fights not start them, I'm the adult – I should haven known better, _his mind angrily acknowledges as he curses once more. With another nearly winded gasp, Ed slowly stands up and somewhat limps back to the original bench to just rest, his head pounding and stomach begging for something just to ease the acidic tsunami gathering strength inside his core.

Ed pulls his phone and looks at it in misery. _What would I say? Come back and…_"I can't quit…" he grumbles as he lets his hand drop to his lap, the phone still attached. A few moments later, he finds himself numbly dialing the one person he knows won't judge or lecture him right now.

_"Ed?" Wordy's warm voice is heard, making Ed's racing heart rate slightly lessen. "Whats up?"_

"Hey buddy I uh…" Ed stops and then looks around into the bleak landscape before him and shakes his head.

_"Ed you okay? Where are you?"_

"You know what… I uh…it's okay. I gotta go."

_"Are you at home?"_

"Home," Ed lets the fated word linger on his lips a bit longer as his eyes instantly water. "No uh…I'm sorry I'm not."

_"Ed…wait, what's going on? Where are you?" Wordy asks in haste. "Has something happened?"_

"Sorry to have called," Ed utters in sorrow as he hangs up and then slumps a bit further down onto the bench, his mind racing with words, curses, yells, excuses, responses; everything silent and morose. He waits on the bench for what seems like a small eternity until, in the distance a car pulls up, stops and a long male figure gets out and slowly heads toward him.

Wordy nears Ed, his mind racing after Spike had traced his cell number to the park. _What is Ed doing at the park at this hour? Why isn't he at home? What happened? _Wordy approaches the bench and then stops, noticing his best friends somewhat disheveled appearance and frowns.

He moves in a bit closer and notices Ed in an almost trance-like state, slightly shivering. "Ed," Wordy simply mentions his name, Ed turning to him with a gut wrenching expression. "Hey…what happened?"

But when Ed doesn't say anything Wordy takes off his warm jacket and gently places it around Ed's shivering back, finally prompting Ed to turn and look at his best friend once more but still say nothing;Wordy's heart instantly slowing to a dull thud at Ed's defeated expression.

"Sorry…Ed it's late and dark and you're freezing…for some reason. Now why don't we go home…"

"I don't want to go home!" Ed snaps and then withdraws.

"Okay something's up. Want me to try to guess?" Wordy tenderly urges. "You look a little rough, were you in a fight?"

Ed only nods and Wordy is taken slightly aback.

"Ok-ay…why?"

"She's gone," Ed confesses softly.

"Who's gone? What's going on?" Wordy presses and then quickly slows down.

"Sophie left me."

"But she was…she came in this morning and everything seemed…oh damn," Wordy gently curses as he finally puts together Ed's strained frame of mind after the brief interlude with his pregnant wife earlier that day. And on top of the whole heated mess with his brother, this isn't exactly what Ed would need to be dealing with today.

"She said it was too much right now and she needed to rest and…and I guess I'm just not helping her as much as I should be…" Ed admits with a biting tone, looking away as a lump of emotion forms in his throat.

"It's just temporary right?"

"Does it matter how long?" Ed sighs as he slowly shrugs the jacket off his shoulders. "Wordy...here, thanks."

"Ed, you're shivering…keep it for now."

"I can't go home…not alone…not after today," he mumbles, almost incoherently, standing up and then starting to walk away.

"Okay so where are you going?" Wordy inquires in haste as he grabs his jacket and hurries after Ed, taking him by the arm and gently steering him toward the parking lot.

"Hotel," Ed simply replies.

"I don't think so," Wordy states mostly to himself as he gets in front of Ed once more.

"I'm gonna be fine."

"I'd be in the same frame of mind if Shelly left but…"

"But she's not is she? Because you have someone that…" Ed's voice starts in a sharp angry tone.

"No…Ed don't do this," Wordy kindly but firmly warns. "Don't start to compare because that'll just breed resentment between us and I know neither of us want that. We have been best friends for upwards of twenty years, let's not throw that away."

"It's my fault."

"She's gonna rest and then come back…"

"I did this," Ed tries to swallow but can only display a heavy frown before trying to veer past Wordy.

"Stay with us tonight."

"Wordy…"

"Come on, we have the spare room and it's got your name all over it. We have leftovers, have a hot shower and then just sleep okay?"

"What do I do? Huh? Tell me."

"Ed, Sophie comes in this morning and tells you she's _temporarily _leaving and then the next hot call we have it you facing down Roy gun barrel to gun barrel as he tries to reclaim his name and professional honour. That's a lot to deal with for most in a lifetime much less all in one day; even for someone as put together as you. There is nothing for it…you just hafta…"

"This baby…Wordy it was unexpected. I wasn't ready…" Ed tries to defend himself.

"And tomorrow you'll make a plan to deal with all that but right now, let's get back to my place…get something in your stomach and just rest okay?"

"Wordy…" Ed tries to protest once more.

"It's either that or I call Shelly right now and tell her the two of us will be camping out under the stars overnight. Not sure how we'd keep warm and no offense but I'm not cozying up to you all night long either with just that jacket to keep us warm. Besides the girls will get a kick out of daddy having one of his friend's sleep over for once," Wordy ends with a small smirk that finally forces Ed's face to relax a little.

Ed looks at Wordy and as much as his mind wants to yell forget it – his heart wins out; the loving offer accepted. Ed nods and falls into step beside Wordy as they head for the waiting minivan. How could he not accept? He didn't want to be alone but didn't really want to be around people looking at him and wondering? Which was the lesser of two evils?

"So were you actually in a fight tonight?"

"Three punks…no big deal," Ed replies with a small shrug, Wordy just pursing his lips but saying nothing. "What? I was angry and I knew I could take them."

"At least you weren't driving."

"Had to burn off some energy," Ed confesses in truth as he gets into the warm confines of the minivan, thankful for some reprieve from the unforgiving elements, his body finally starting to ease a bit once the engine is started and the heater turned on.

"Just try to relax okay," Wordy mentions as he notices Ed's hands still shaking slightly as he tries to dial on his phone. "You'll call in the morning."

Ed puts the phone away and stares out the window as they head for Wordy's; neither of them talking. There wasn't much to be said; Wordy wasn't about to try to help Ed figure out his own working routine with his wife – that was between the two of them and he wasn't about to berate Ed for leaving an empty house in such a heated frame of mind – he knows he just has to be here for moral support.

"I get home…the drawers are still open…everything looked so…so empty," Ed utters with a somber tone, his mournful blue eyes still fixed into the inky night sky. "The house…first time in…in a long time I get home and it's empty…I mean really empty."

Wordy stops the minivan in front of his home and looks over at Ed and frowns, his heart beating now at a dull thud in his chest. He had told Shelly that he was going to check on Ed but didn't know the reason for Ed's mysterious call or why he was in the park; this would sadden her also.

"Come on…let's go in."

Ed mechanically gets out of the minivan, too tired to verbally protest and too emotionally spent to try to conjure up another viable option on where to spend the night other than home.

"Kev is that y…" Shelly comes into the hallway and looks at the look on Wordy's face and then at Ed and stops. "Hey there."

"So Ed's gonna…stay..."

"Wordy, I…" Ed stammers as he turns to leave. "I can go to a hotel."

Wordy quickly looks to his wife for some personal assistance in keeping his friend with them.

"Kev there's a plate of leftovers in the fridge and I'll make up the spare bedroom."

"There…come on now," Wordy replies, standing in front of the door and barring Ed's escape. Allowing a heavy sigh to escape his lips, Ed finally admits defeat, takes off his runners and follows after Wordy into the kitchen, offering a soft _'thank you'_ to Shelly as he passes.

Ed slumps down at the table and watches as Wordy fixes a plate, puts it into the microwave and then hands him a large glass of water.

"Save the whiskey for another night."

"She…just left," Ed whispers, prompting Wordy's hand to rest on his shoulder and give it a tender squeeze before the microwave dings and Wordy turns to get it. He notices Shelly in the doorway, who had obviously heard Ed's confession and nods before removing the warm plate.

"Okay…ribs ala Iron Chef Wordsworth," Wordy teases as he puts the plate down in front of Ed.

Ed looks at the food but feels no inward inclination toward consuming it, instead pushing the fork aside and leaning back in the chair.

"Come on Ed…you hafta eat - trust me its not that bad," Wordy lightly pleads as he takes one of the ribs and starts to gnaw away on it. "I'll join you."

Feeling the pangs of hunger punching at the sour lining of his stomach, Ed finally reaches out, tentatively grabs the fork but then starts to thankfully eat the food before him, drinking the water but not mentioning anything more about Sophie or his current emotionally tormented situation.

Wordy looks at his best friend and feels himself utter a silent scream of frustration on his behalf. What more could he do? Nothing…just offer a shoulder, a listening ear and a watchful eye; keeping him on track as he would do if the situation were in reverse and fervently pray they could work it out and get back on track – for all their sakes.

"Thanks…it was um…good," Ed mentions softly.

"You're welcome," Wordy replies with a small smile. "Okay so go…"

"No Wordy…I can go home…I'll be um...okay."

"Just head to the spare bedroom and collapse onto it if you want…have a shower in the morning or now…or whatever. But Ed, you can't go home alone, not tonight okay?"

Ed looks at the kind expression on Wordy's face and knows he can't argue; in reality he doesn't want to be alone.

"Okay."

"Okay," Wordy nods as they both stand up, Shelly waiting until they had left the kitchen before entering and cleaning up. Ed and Wordy silently walk down the hallway and stop in the doorway of the spare bedroom, Ed taking a few steps in and then turning to face Wordy with a defeated expression.

"Thank you."

Wordy merely nods and offers a soft smile, Ed didn't have to thank him, it was the unspoken duty of true best friends to be there for each other in the good times and bad; to hold their hand up high to celebrate a victory and hold their head up high when trying to cope with a defeat. It was the code between them and tonight it was his turn to honor it.

"Tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow will come and I'll be here. You'll wake up, get ready for the day and then make a call, see how she is and then…"

"And then go home alone?" Ed's voice dies to a soft whisper, as he looks up with watery eyes.

"Hey as long as I'm here you'll never be that alone," Wordy assures him as he pulls Ed into his grasp and gives him a warm hug and then pulls back. "Get some rest."

"Okay," Ed mumbles as he watches Wordy take his leave and disappear into the hallway. Ed slumps down onto the small twin sized bed and just looks around, chocking back a sob and wiping clear a sniffle. "I'm sorry…" Ed whispers; Wordy in the hallway hearing the tormented confession and feeling his own stomach tighten.

Not really wanting anything more than to just succumb to the darkened realm of sleep, Ed curls on his side, pulls the blanket over his anxiety riddled frame and then turns off the small light, bathing the entire area in darkness.

"I'm worried about him," Wordy whispers with watery eyes as Shelly nears, snaking her arm around his waist, the two of them hearing the soft anguished cries from the normally in control team leader and close friend.

"I know," Shelly whispers back as she kisses Wordy's cheek. "You did the right thing bringing him here."

"You sure?"

"I am. They'll get through this."

"I hope so."

"Trust me," Shelly assures him with a kiss on the cheek.

Wordy gives her a squeeze before looking in on Ed for the last time that night and then heading toward his own bedroom, with his wife at his side. There were a few things that could bring the staunch team leader to his knees, but even in the darkness, his silent screaming was heard loud and clear; the pain eating away at them all. But Shelly was right, here was the best place for Ed; the tormented night would pass, tomorrow would come and a new day would dawn; a new day filled with a new game plan and a chance at starting from all over again. Wordy was right – he'd never be that alone and his silent screams never unheard.

**THE END!**

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**A/N:** Okay so I changed it a bit and had Ed confess the temporary separation to his best friend – b/c well best friends do that right? Yeah it was angsty but the eppy ended in such an angsty way so hope you all liked this a little and would love your thoughts so please review before you go and thanks so much!

**PS: Am sure that you have all by now heard the depressing news that Flashpoint will be ending after season 5 (sniff sniff) but I do hope to continue writing for you all b/c I have lots of ideas for my fave pairings. So your reviews and support are so important and I do hope you'll keep reviewing to keep us inspired and writing more for you. Thanks again and GIANT CYBER HUG TO US ALL WRITE NOW!**


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